Yeah -- it was a compromise. I don't like the idea of a FWD, but it was cheap, available, and about as good as it gets for FWD.

I don't totally agree with the manual transmission. My MR2 is an automatic as it happens, but you get three real gears + overdrive out of it, so you can do all the shifting you really need to -- when you're about to go up a big hill or you want to slow down a bit.

My dad has Tiptronic in his car.. but it's not the same. A real driver's car has a floor shift manual, with a clutch pedal. None of this auto or semi-auto stuff ;)You lose the relationship with the experience that way...